Let's begin, as we must, with a simple distinction between the three series in question when I talk about Full Metal Panic.
Full Metal Panic!
Full Metal Panic? Fummofu
Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid
The third series is a direct sequel to the first, while the second is a collection of humorous asides. But, all of the series are fundamentally fantastic.
Imagine you can take Teal'c from Stargate SG-1, the ultimate fish out of water. Unaware of normal societal norms, terribly literal, very capable, and with a mind of an entirely military bent. Now, put him in the body of a teenaged mercenary, and make his job guarding a teenaged school-girl who has unconscious access to brilliant scientific advances that make nuclear weapons look like child's play. Hilarity ensues? You bet your ass it does.
A lot of the humor and early character drama comes from the disconnect between Sousuke Sagara's (the Teal'c mercenary in question) inability to recognize normal social interaction for what it is. If there are any among us who can watch the scene of him offering to reopen negotiation and listen to the demands of an angry dating sim character without laughing, I challenge that you are simply without humor. They play that trope for a while, and with a lot of fun, but not either at the expense of other characterization, nor at the expense of the plot.
It really starts to shine when the plot gets rolling. Kaname Chidori (the schoolgirl in question) is what's called a "whispered", who have quasi-mystical access to big-time scientific advances that every sociopath and his morally-ambiguous somewhat-anachronistic KGB boss wants to get their hands on. Mithril, the organization for whom Sousuke and his major supporting cast work for is a mercenary group which tries to prevent this. As such, Sousuke gets no end of trouble trying to keep Kaname safe from the bad, bad, guys out there.
The plot is concise without being overly speedy, and complex without being dull. The real plot, though, is all about Sousuke. It's about him trying to find who he really is outside of killing people, and to try to accord himself to normal life. The slow building of him attempting to be normal is really the main thrust of the series, punctuated with "horror of war" segments that really drive the point home. The romantic subplot manages to be both obvious and confounding. For all of the slap-slap-kiss looking moments, Sousuke never really gets the girl, no matter how often he saves her, and while the series keeps the "when will they" question open, it doesn't harp on it.
The characters are well-rounded and imaginative, with most of them having enough depth to make you care what happens to them. Even one-shot characters get at least some characterization, and you can definitely feel for what they're all going through. The moments of self-doubt for Sousuke feel real, and never feel forced for the sake of drama.
As with most of the properties owned by AVFilms, and now by Funimation, brilliant dubbing all-around. The main characters' actors are all well-suited to their characters, and most of the side-characters are done well. Some of them are a bit dodgy at times, but extras are extras. The localization does at bit of changing things up to make it more sensible to American audiences, but its mostly limited, and gets the feel of it down right.
Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu acts as a sort of collection of filler episodes. Humorous asides with no direct bearing on the plot, but damned funny nonetheless. I won't give much away, since some of it works better as shock humor (not so much "gross out" as simply unexpected), but it's done brilliantly, and the episodes involving Iron Man-esque mech suits which look like a giant stuffed animal are hilarious.
The Second Raid picks up where the original FMP! left off. More intrigue, more information about recent developments, more frenetic and tense. I can't talk too much about it without spoiling anything.
The biggest complaint I have is that there simply isn't enough of it. The novels continue on quite a way beyond the end of TSR, and a new anime is set to be produced following their conclusion, but that's a long time before it hits American shores with the dub. Watch it with my highest recommendation.
Full Metal Panic!
Full Metal Panic? Fummofu
Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid
The third series is a direct sequel to the first, while the second is a collection of humorous asides. But, all of the series are fundamentally fantastic.
Imagine you can take Teal'c from Stargate SG-1, the ultimate fish out of water. Unaware of normal societal norms, terribly literal, very capable, and with a mind of an entirely military bent. Now, put him in the body of a teenaged mercenary, and make his job guarding a teenaged school-girl who has unconscious access to brilliant scientific advances that make nuclear weapons look like child's play. Hilarity ensues? You bet your ass it does.
[image height= 300]http://lh4.ggpht.com/_D_LCDE4LIgw/R7WtmeoFGsI/AAAAAAAAEzE/a4Yf62hNsME/3c645f26a26981b8a7ed0e9f69438610.jpg[/IMG]
They asked Sousuke if he knew what a condom was for. By god, he knows
They asked Sousuke if he knew what a condom was for. By god, he knows
A lot of the humor and early character drama comes from the disconnect between Sousuke Sagara's (the Teal'c mercenary in question) inability to recognize normal social interaction for what it is. If there are any among us who can watch the scene of him offering to reopen negotiation and listen to the demands of an angry dating sim character without laughing, I challenge that you are simply without humor. They play that trope for a while, and with a lot of fun, but not either at the expense of other characterization, nor at the expense of the plot.
He's not a nerd, he's a specialist
It really starts to shine when the plot gets rolling. Kaname Chidori (the schoolgirl in question) is what's called a "whispered", who have quasi-mystical access to big-time scientific advances that every sociopath and his morally-ambiguous somewhat-anachronistic KGB boss wants to get their hands on. Mithril, the organization for whom Sousuke and his major supporting cast work for is a mercenary group which tries to prevent this. As such, Sousuke gets no end of trouble trying to keep Kaname safe from the bad, bad, guys out there.
The plot is concise without being overly speedy, and complex without being dull. The real plot, though, is all about Sousuke. It's about him trying to find who he really is outside of killing people, and to try to accord himself to normal life. The slow building of him attempting to be normal is really the main thrust of the series, punctuated with "horror of war" segments that really drive the point home. The romantic subplot manages to be both obvious and confounding. For all of the slap-slap-kiss looking moments, Sousuke never really gets the girl, no matter how often he saves her, and while the series keeps the "when will they" question open, it doesn't harp on it.
The characters are well-rounded and imaginative, with most of them having enough depth to make you care what happens to them. Even one-shot characters get at least some characterization, and you can definitely feel for what they're all going through. The moments of self-doubt for Sousuke feel real, and never feel forced for the sake of drama.
As with most of the properties owned by AVFilms, and now by Funimation, brilliant dubbing all-around. The main characters' actors are all well-suited to their characters, and most of the side-characters are done well. Some of them are a bit dodgy at times, but extras are extras. The localization does at bit of changing things up to make it more sensible to American audiences, but its mostly limited, and gets the feel of it down right.
Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu acts as a sort of collection of filler episodes. Humorous asides with no direct bearing on the plot, but damned funny nonetheless. I won't give much away, since some of it works better as shock humor (not so much "gross out" as simply unexpected), but it's done brilliantly, and the episodes involving Iron Man-esque mech suits which look like a giant stuffed animal are hilarious.
[image height=350]http://www.animexchanges.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/bontakun3ax.jpg[/IMG]
This is my bonta-kun. There are many like it, but this one is mine
The Second Raid picks up where the original FMP! left off. More intrigue, more information about recent developments, more frenetic and tense. I can't talk too much about it without spoiling anything.
The biggest complaint I have is that there simply isn't enough of it. The novels continue on quite a way beyond the end of TSR, and a new anime is set to be produced following their conclusion, but that's a long time before it hits American shores with the dub. Watch it with my highest recommendation.
